Depth Chart

[1barney22]

Based on the first 2 pre season games, what would you consider the depth chart to be by position?

[IslandersHKY]

Here is the way I see things so far based on the first 2 games:

Potential Lineup
Kana(17) - Morrison(20) - Latal(19)
Walker(20) - Doyle(17) -Locke(19)
Cliche(18) - Lachaine(19) - Schmidt(19)
MacLean(16)/McKinley(18)/Street(16)-Main(19)
Coon-Come(17)


Lessard(19) - Southorn(17)
Gervais(19) - Clow (17)
Swit(20) - Malouin(17)
Deighan(17)



Just to explain my thinking on this.

The top 2 lines are pretty easy although Locke will have to show that he is a second line player.

I’m still not 100% sure that Schmidt will make it because of his age but based on the 2 games that I saw I think he would provide some offensive boast to that third line and I doubt it was by coincidence that him and Lachaine played together on Sunday and they looked good together. But I only see Schmidt as a 3rd line player, if prefers McKinley or MacLean on the third line they Schmidt, won’t (shouldn’t) make it. Here’s hoping he does as I liked his game.

What I see on the 4th line is MacLean, McKinley and Street can rotate when everyone is healthy and in the end all 3 should get in about 50 - 60 games maybe more. Main provides a little toughness and is versatile which means 7 defensemen is enough. And depending on their play any one of those 4 could move up to the third line later in the season.

Coon-Come has really impressed me with his play. He plays that Paynter style that everyone loved so much by giving it absolutely everything he has every shift and loves to play body. He has good skating and not bad puck skills, plus at only 17 I think he is really worth developing. I see him potentially filling the same role McKinley did last season which depending on injuries will likely only be about 30 or so games but every shift he gets will be a good one and a full year of practising with the team could really help him for the next 2 seasons.


Players who should get a Long Look (Longest to shortest)
DesRoches
Showed very good offensive skills and could make the team. Although personally I think playing in Jr A would help him develop a lot more than playing as a 14th forward.

Paynter
I am sure people are going to tear into this and despite being a fan of Paynter’s I don’t think he will make it. Personally I wasn’t impressed with his first 2 games and he was clearly outplayed by Main who was acquired for a reason, plus he is more versitile (forward/defense), and looks bigger than Paynter. Don’t get me wrong I love Paynter’s game but at 19 he shouldn’t be on the team unless he is getting regular ice time which I don’t think he can do as I would take all the 4th liners I listed ahead of him. As well Coon-Come plays a very similar style as Paynter (which is an important role) and is 2 yrs younger.


Owens
Great defensemen with good skills. I really think he is good enough to be a regular defensemen in this league but in both games Deighan was clearly the better defenseman and also is a year younger. Owens was unfortunately in tough trying to make a team with its defense already very set.


Manson
I only saw him play limited mins in one game but Manson looks like another year of development would be the best for him which was likely the plan all along. But I do think he has the potential to be a player on this team at some point in the future and am looking forward to seeing him play some more preseason games.



Next Cuts (first to last)
Wright
Burke
Mitchell
Piche (maybe a long look)

[bois]

I might consider keeping both Owens and Deighan over Malouin to be honest.. I have never really seen the reason why Malouin made last years team and by the sounds of things he isn't really standing out this camp either.. of course the team could also possibly affiliate DEighan and use him as emergency callup (something they might be able to do with DesRoches as well) and maybe keep Main as a blueliner (occasional forward to get the 7 dman some action) and still keep Paynter on the team.. I honestly can't see how the team could even consider cutting Greg to be honest.... that would be a gigantic mistake both from a PR perspective and a team character perspective.... in fact I actually think Paynter should be an assistant captain this season

[1barney22]

Was kinda hoping that some of you could offer you thoughts on depth from best player to worst by position. For example:

Forwards
Morrison
Walker
Latal
etc......

[Score]

Forwards:
Morrison
Walker
Doyle
Latal
Kana
Locke
Cliche
Lachaine
MacLean
Street
Paynter
McKinley
Main
DesRoches
Coon-Come
Manson
Piché





Dman
Lessard
Southorn
Gervais
Clow
Swit
Deighan
Malouin
Owens

[1barney22]

Score.....you did not mention who the best goalie is. LOL. Thanks for the post. Anyone else got an opinion?

[IslandersHKY]

Forwards
Morrison
Walker
Doyle
Latal
Kana
Lachaine
Locke
Cliche
Street
MacLean
Schmidt
McKinley
Main

Coon-Come
DesRoches
Paynter
Piché
Manson
Mitchell
Burke
Wright


Interesting question. Firstly as I previously said if Jean doesn't think Schmidt is a third line player he won't make this team despite being better than some others because of his age.

IMO the other top players listed are all locks to make this team. Then the group of Coon-Come, DesRoches and Paynter is interesting because they all offer something different so it depends on what you are looking for. To me DesRoches has the most skill but I don't think will develop as well as the Rocket's 14th forward as he would in Jr A, Paynter might be the most Q ready now but he is 19 and so IMO Coon-Come offers the most attractive atributes to make him my choice for this season's 14th forward.


Defensemen
Lessard
Southorn
Gervais
Clow
Swit
Malouin
Deighan
Owens


Defense is much clearer and again I see Malouin being a noticable step ahead of Deighan and I think it will show once the season gets going. Not knocking Deighan as I think he will become a solid top 4 guys it just speaks to how highly I think of Malouin.


Goalies are already decided and I haven't see Waye or Peck play so I can't offer an opinion on how they rank behind Lafleur and Mosher. I'm guessing both are better than Clermont.

[Score]

hockeyfan99 said:

Forwards
Morrison
Walker
Doyle
Latal
Kana
Lachaine
Locke
Cliche
Street
MacLean
Schmidt
McKinley
Main

Coon-Come
DesRoches
Paynter

Piché
Manson
Mitchell
Burke
Wright


Interesting question. Firstly as I previously said if Jean doesn't think Schmidt is a third line player he won't make this team despite being better than some others because of his age.

IMO the top 13 are all locks to make this team. Then the group of Coon-Come, DesRoches and Paynter is interesting because they all offer something different so it depends on what you are looking for. To me DesRoches has the most skill but I don't think will develop as well as the Rocket's 14th forward as he would in Jr A, Paynter might be the most Q ready now but he is 19 and so IMO Coon-Come offers the most attractive atributes to make him my choice for this season's 14th forward.


Defensemen
Lessard
Southorn
Gervais
Clow
Swit
Malouin
Deighan
Owens


Defense is much clearer and again I see Malouin being a noticable step ahead of Deighan and I think it will show once the season gets going. Not knocking Deighan as I think he will become a solid top 4 guys it just speaks to how highly I think of Malouin.


Goalies are already decided and I haven't see Waye or Peck play so I can't offer an opinion on how they rank behind Lafleur and Mosher. I'm guessing both are better than Clermont.

I personally am not a fan of keeping Schmidt around.

What you said about Paynter/Coon-Come......that comes into play here.

Schmidt is 19.......dont keep him around to get 3rd line minutes and take from a player like MacLean, who is 16.

[bois]

I don't think it makes sense to rank players as "best" or "worst"... really the good news is we have very solid depth all around now.. something that was lacking in previous seasons.. the only thing we don't have depth wise is top end scoring

just my opinion

i think it's time to take a step forward ... to me that means playing your most Q ready team now, not trying to keep 3-4 16 year olds as depth players.. again just my opinion.. i'd actually keep only 1.. whomever has the better camp between Street and MacLean

[Score]

bois said:

i think it's time to take a step forward ... to me that means playing your most Q ready team now, not trying to keep 3-4 16 year olds as depth players.. again just my opinion.. i'd actually keep only 1.. whomever has the better camp between Street and MacLean

I would rather have a 16yr old get the minutes then a one year "filler" IMO..........especially if a team is not seriously making a "run" for it.

[bois]

If you take an offensive 16 year old and play him as a 4th line plug for 40 games.. maybe his development stalls?

If you can offer him some top end icetime and even a bit of PP time then i'd agree with you... otherwise I personally think wait til he's 17 and let him cut his teeth then

We have enough youth now.. I really think we (the fans/ the team) need to get out of this mentality of never "going" for anything

and who is to say a one year filler can't be a 2 year filler? You gotta look towards next season too.. not a bad thing to have a few extra contenders for an overage slot in the future

[Score]

bois said:

If you take an offensive 16 year old and play him as a 4th line plug for 40 games.. maybe his development stalls?

If you can offer him some top end icetime and even a bit of PP time then i'd agree with you... otherwise I personally think wait til he's 17 and let him cut his teeth then

We have enough youth now.. I really think we (the fans/ the team) need to get out of this mentality of never "going" for anything

and who is to say a one year filler can't be a 2 year filler? You gotta look towards next season too.. not a bad thing to have a few extra contenders for an overage slot in the future

I would rather have a talented 16yr old Fw up with a Q team all season.....then down in midget getting bored.

Does anyone know if/who owns Street/MacLeans MJAHL rights?

I admit, ihave not seen a lot of Schmidt, but from what I did, I can say that the odds of him being a Q "20" next season are slim.

[IslandersHKY]

admin said:

I personally am not a fan of keeping Schmidt around.

What you said about Paynter/Coon-Come......that comes into play here.

Schmidt is 19.......dont keep him around to get 3rd line minutes and take from a player like MacLean, who is 16.

Now I only saw 2 preseason games but the choice appears to look like this and then it comes down to what the Rocket are looking for from their 3rd line.


Schmidt
- 19 yr old with Q experience
- Is older but looked noticabaly better in the games than McKinley and MacLean
- Looked very good playing with Lachaine
- Has offensive skill and should be reliable defensively
- Maybe could get in the range of 15-20 goals and 40 pts
- Schmidt could end up being a temp fillin on the second line when needed


McKinley
- 18 yr old looking to develop
- Will be solid defensively but may not offer much offensively
- Could get in the range of 10 goals and 20 pts
- Not able to fill a second line role


MacLean
- 16 yr old with great potential
- 16 yr old offensive rookies generally aren't solid defensively
- Standard production for 16 yr olds is the range of 5 - 8 goals and 15 pts
- Not yet ready to fill a second line role this season


So the way I see it allowing McKinley and Maclean to battle/share that third line role will certainly help their development.

However, I think that if the Rocket don't keep Schmidt we are losing a player who could make a solid contribution to this team, especially by helping with secondary offense which is something we need.

And as I previous said even with Schmidt, our fourth line develop forwards: McKinley, MacLean and Street could all dress about 50 - 60 games each which is very reasonable.

As well, if any of our top line guys get injured for a significant length at we would lose quite a bit with Cliche are our second line option and a third line of McKinley and MacLean. Nothing personal as that would be fine for a developing team but teams that want to challenge for the division need solid depth at forward.

And if Schmidt doesn't work out or if McKinley and MacLean impress Schmidt could easily be released or moved. And since there is no investment there is no loss.

So while I don't disagree with you thoughts on why you don't think we should keep Schmidt he has impressed me in the two games I watched and I think this teams need to start changing our focus a little from a developing team to a competitive team.
Because as much as I love all of our young players your 19 yr olds are going to help you win games the most.

Maybe after you watch Schmidt play a game or two you might change your opinion because he has really put in a good effort and impressed me in the first two.

[Score]

hockeyfan99 said:

admin said:

I personally am not a fan of keeping Schmidt around.

What you said about Paynter/Coon-Come......that comes into play here.

Schmidt is 19.......dont keep him around to get 3rd line minutes and take from a player like MacLean, who is 16.

Now I only saw 2 preseason games but the choice appears to look like this and then it comes down to what the Rocket are looking for from their 3rd line.


Schmidt
- 19 yr old with Q experience
- Is older but looked noticabaly better in the games than McKinley and MacLean
- Looked very good playing with Lachaine
- Has offensive skill and should be reliable defensively
- Maybe could get in the range of 15-20 goals and 40 pts
- Schmidt could end up being a temp fillin on the second line when needed


McKinley
- 18 yr old looking to develop
- Will be solid defensively but may not offer much offensively
- Could get in the range of 10 goals and 20 pts
- Not able to fill a second line role


MacLean
- 16 yr old with great potential
- 16 yr old offensive rookies generally aren't solid defensively
- Standard production for 16 yr olds is the range of 5 - 8 goals and 15 pts
- Not yet ready to fill a second line role this season


So the way I see it allowing McKinley and Maclean to battle/share that third line role will certainly help their development.

However, I think that if the Rocket don't keep Schmidt we are losing a player who could make a solid contribution to this team, especially by helping with secondary offense which is something we need.

And as I previous said even with Schmidt, our fourth line develop forwards: McKinley, MacLean and Street could all dress about 50 - 60 games each which is very reasonable.

As well, if any of our top line guys get injured for a significant length at we would lose quite a bit with Cliche are our second line option and a third line of McKinley and MacLean. Nothing personal as that would be fine for a developing team but teams that want to challenge for the division need solid depth at forward.

And if Schmidt doesn't work out or if McKinley and MacLean impress Schmidt could easily be released or moved. And since there is no investment there is no loss.

So while I don't disagree with you thoughts on why you don't think we should keep Schmidt he has impressed me in the two games I watched and I think this teams need to start changing our focus a little from a developing team to a competitive team.
Because as much as I love all of our young players your 19 yr olds are going to help you win games the most.

Maybe after you watch Schmidt play a game or two you might change your opinion because he has really put in a good effort and impressed me in the first two.

Im not knocking your opinion at all.....I personally would rather keep both MacLean and Street over Schmidt.

And yes he has Q experience..........22games in fact.

www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid%5B%5D=96303

He put up 13 goals in Tier II to be his best totals.....and you think he could get 15-20 in Major Jr??

And IMO, our 2nd line is complete.

It's our 3rd line that we should be talking about.

[bois]

I haven't seen Schmidt play to be fair.... but I am willing to bet in camp in year one nobody would have thought a kid named Mark Lee was anything more than a one year filler (and turns out he wasn't but that was a huge management mistake) and now he's playing in the AHL.. just saying sometimes these fillers can be more than one year if managed properly... but for Scmidt personally I'll wait and see him play in game action before making any comment

I just don't think there's room for both Street and Maclean this year